Life Within The Halls

Chapter 18: "One of us is a SNITCH"

LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Victoria

Friday, 13th February, 11: 55 a.m.

"Chloe Wilson?" Jayden chuckled softly. "You've got to be kidding me!"

I wasn't joking about my suspicion that Chloe Wilson could be AnonymousX. Whoever AnonymousX was, it had to be someone who didn't have anything to lose, and Chloe Wilson definitely fit the bill. She had no friends.

"There's a Chloe Wilson in our class?" Sandra's eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah, there is, the girl in glasses," Gideon replied her.

"Ah, I see," Sandra's eyes widened with recognition. "I didn't catch her name during the introduction because," she turned to me, "you collapsed. Is she somehow related to Principal Wilson?"

I bobbed, a smirk tugging at the corners of my lips. "She's Principal Wilson's daughter and, let's just say, quite the loner."

"So, just because Chloe is a loner, you think she's capable of murder... and all that hideous stuff?" Jayden's tone dripped with skepticism.

"If it's not her, who else?" I posed the question. "Think about it. The clues we have about AnonymousX point to three girls in our class, and I strongly believe it's Chloe Wilson. So, if I were you, Gideon, I would start focusing on Chloe's account. It's even gonna save time."

Gideon's fingers hovered over his laptop. "You're right, and at the same time, wrong," he said. "If I stop the current operation and focus on Chloe, it'll take approximately half a day to breach her account and decrypt her phone's system. But if it turns out she's not AnonymousX, we'll be back to square one, and it'll set us back an additional three days. Do you want to take that risk?"

"Chloe can't be AnonymousX," Jayden asserted.

"So, it's a yes or no?" Gideon pressed, his eyes scanning each of our faces for a response.

"Yea—"

"No!" Jayden cutt me off. "Don't focus on Chloe. It can never be her."

Gideon nodded and got his attention back to the laptop, his fingers resuming their dance across the keys.

Something seemed off about Jayden's reaction. It wasn't like he was Chloe's friend or admirer, at least not that I knew of. So, why was he so adamant in her defense?

The lunch break bell rang, its echo resonating through the halls, signaling the start of our midday reprieve. A brief lull settled over the room, with only the muffled shuffle of footsteps on the staircase and the wirl of the elevators breaking the silence.

Jayden cleared his throat. "I've got somewhere to go," he announced, rising from his seat.

"Where?" Sandra inquired. "Your interview is in," she checked the time on her phone, "10 minutes."

"Ugh," Jayden ran his hand through his dreadlocks. "I'm going to see Henry. He will help me get ready for my interview." With that, he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Instantly, Gideon grabbed his laptop and placed it in front of Sandra and me. "Guess what?"

"What?" I asked, turning from him to look at the screen. "You're focusing on Chloe?" Chloe's Instagram account was displayed on the screen.

"Yep!" he replied. "I'm up against Chloe Wilson too."

"But Jayden isn't okay with it," Sandra interjected.

"This is not just about Jayden, okay? I still don't know why my best friend Daniel was kidnapped," Gideon stressed.

"Mm. How long did you say it will take again?" Sandra asked.

"How much time will it take for what?" A familiar masculine voice interrupted as the door swung open.

I spun around swiftly, only to find Principal Wilson standing in the doorway. Did he overhear our conversation about his daughter, or as rumors had it, his alleged adopted daughter?

"Is there something I should know?" His sharp gaze bore into me, making me squirm under his scrutiny.

"No, sir," I replied, trying to maintain my composure.

"Okay, it's lunchtime. Get something to eat," he instructed. "Anyway, I came here to see how beneficial you're using the free period I gave you. Hope all is well?" He turned to Sandra, expecting an answer.

"Yes, Principal Wilson," Sandra replied politely, her eyes darting between him and me.

Principal Wilson left, and the room exhaled a collective sigh of relief.

"That was too close," I muttered under my breath.

"I'm starving," Gideon said, retuning to his work on the laptop. "Would any of you mind fetching me something from the cafeteria?"

"Victoria and I will take care of it," Sandra volunteered, giving me a meaningful look that silently communicated, "You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

"Sure," I agreed, grabbing my bag and following her out of the room to the hallway.

The hallway was abuzz, just as I anticipated everyone's reaction to the impending release of the 'NEW LEAK... RELEASING SOON' video. Discussions swirled around us, ranging from wild speculation to heated debates, with some even betting large sums on whose leak video it could be.

Sandra's phone vibrated in her hands, and she glanced at the screen before shooting me a look, as if my presence was inconvenient timing.

"I have to take this call," she said abruptly, already walking away without waiting to hear my response.

I couldn't help but wonder what the urgent phone call was about. Who had called her? And why did she feel the need to step away to take it?

I shook off my jitters and headed to the cafeteria to get something for Gideon, taking extra in case Sandra or Jayden needed some too. I couldn't walk around with the food in hand, so I wrapped it up and requested a sophomore student to take it to the prefect room.

As I made my way out of the cafeteria, I bumped into Henry, who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Have you seen Jayden?" he asked urgently.

"Jayden?" I furrowed my brows. "He told me he was coming to you to prepare for his interview."

"He never showed up, and that's not even my problem now," Henry replied, clearly flustered. "His interview is scheduled to begin in a minute. Everything's in place—camera, lights, host—except for him."

Just then, one of the guys from the school's basketball team waved frantically from a distance. "Henry! Jayden has arrived!"

Henry let out a soft sigh and lightly tapped his forehead before striding toward the guy.

If Jayden wasn't with Henry all along, then where was he?

As I pondered, my phone beeped with a message from AnonymousX.

"Greetings to the so-called 'Everperfect'. I'm dropping this text to let you know that I'm aware of everything you guys are up to. You better quit with the 'hacking into everyone's account' idea. It won't work." The message dripped with mocking laugh and a skeleton head emoji.

I didn't want to let AnonymousX's words get to me, but they set off alarm bells in my mind. How did she know about our plan to hack into everyone's accounts to find her identity?

One of us was a snitch, a traitor in our midst. But who?

It couldn't be Jayden since his 'leak video' was in the picture. Neither could it be Gideon, his concern for finding his best friend's kidnapper was palpable. But what about Sandra? Was AnonymousX the one who phoned her?

The question lingered in my mind, sowing seeds of distrust among them. I had begun to place my trust in them, but now it all seemed to be slipping away. The bond we had built was now clouded with doubt and uncertainty.